A COUNCILLOR says she will continue to serve her constituents, despite moving away from her ward.

Chester Conservatives used their website to reveal Joan Fairhurst (Kelsall, Lib Dem) has moved away from her Kelsall home.

Former Tory candidate and Ashton Hayes parishcouncillorHugoDeynem also questioned whether Cllr Fairhurst can still adequately serve the area.

Cllr Deynem came second as Tory candidate in the city council elections for Ashton Hayes ward last May and says he may stand again in May, when Cllr Fairhurst's term ends.

He said: 'It is not that I am calling for CllrFairhursttoresign, Ijustthinkthe people of Ashton Hayes and Kelsall should ask whether they are going to have representation when one of the ward councillors isn't living in the district.

'I would say selling up and moving out shows some disregard for the people who have elected you.'

Cllr Fairhurst is living temporarily in Kingsley and will move to North Wales, 12 miles away from Chester, in the near future.

Cllr Fairhurst added she is due to undergo hip surgery in the next three months and will be unable to drive for some time afterwards.

She said: 'I am not going to resign. If I did so within six months of an election there would not have to be a by-election so Kelsall would effectively lose a ward councillor.

'In my new home I will still be close to Chester so I will be able to easily get to Town Hall meetings. I will endeavour to get to as many meetings in Kelsall and Ashton Hayes as possible, and will hold surgeries if necessary until I stand down in May.

'Actually I have been back to Kelsall every day since I moved house, the normalnetworking hascontinuedsoit is not affecting my work.'

Cllr Fairhurst said she always intended to stand down at the end of this, her first term, and is looking forward to pursuing her interests in ecology and watercolour painting.

She added: 'I think it is wonderful when people join the political world with a view to spending their life in it, but that is not me.

'We are looking for a Liberal Democrat candidate for Kelsall ward in May and I encourage people to seriously consider giving the four years to work on things in their community, without seeing it as a life-long activity.

'In a city council like Chester, where most councillors are urban-based, it is extremely important we have strong voices to represent the rural areas.'